On Political Nationalism

Author: He Xin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-10-01
Features: There is a proposition that advocates for political reform to transform the state's function into a "service-oriented" state. So, who should the service be for? For the entire populace? But in reality, the "people" in society are divided into different classes of the poor and the rich. Their demands have both similarities and differences. The interests of the rich and the poor are both aligned and divergent. Their conflicts and contradictions remain extremely intense. So, should the state serve the abstract whole of the populace, or only serve a small portion of the rich? Should it serve the majority of the poor and oppressed people, or only serve a small group of highly taxed individuals, i.e., the bourgeoisie? (There are now those promoting the fallacy of serving taxpayers and those who pay more taxes, i.e., exclusively serving the rich and the bourgeoisie.) In this historical context, Mr. He Xin proposed a re-examination of nationalism, specifically regarding the theory of state sovereignty.